Armistice Day Remembered

Walter Keller with his five sisters and their mother.

In 1918, Walter Keller was sent overseas as a part of the American forces during WWI. While abroad, Walter was a faithful writer to his five sisters, his mother and his sweetheart. He wrote to each of them unfailingly, describing his experiences in France.

            On November 11, 1918, Armistice Day brought an end to the Great War and Walter was in France to join in the celebrations. On November 19^tt, he wrote to his sister Lillian Keller about the experience.

“Dear Lillian,

I am about recovered from the Grand Celebration, so I shall make an attempt to answer two of your letters, one dated Oct. 18, and the other Oct. 23. First I must try to tell you something about the Victory celebration. I had thot that I had seen some celebrations before, but this one eclipsed anything I had ever run across. Champagne flowed like water. Parades of all kinds, some lead by a band, others by nothing more than a French soldier with a horn, or even a fiddle, or rather violin, or even an accordion or mouth organ. French men, women, children, soldiers if all the Allied armies, arms locked across the whole width of the streets. All street cars stopped early in the afternoon, as it was impossible to run them. Old men with long whiskers, young children, hardly old enough to know what it was all about, every one joined in, I kissed, and was kissed by old be-whiskered men, old women, pretty girls, French soldiers, Belgian soldiers, and I do not know what else. I came home or rather back to camp after a while for I gave up all hopes of drinking up all the wine, so do not know how long it lasted, but I suppose it was all night, for I went back down the next evening, and it was still going as strong as ever, and lasted even till the third evening. I wish I could have been in Paris, or some other large place. I do not know how it was there, but if it was anything proportion, I have an idea that I must have been wild, for if a little place like this can put on such as this, I must say that it must have been real in the other places.

We have been having some fine fall weather, with just a touch of winter, for it has been freezing some real ice for some time. Today it is warmer, and cloudy, and looks as if it might rain, I do hope that it will not start to rain again, for I do not like it a bit. I would rather have cold and clear than warm and raining all the time. I had almost begun to think that my photos had not reached you, as I had not heard anything about them, but I see they got there alright. I am rather puffed up with pride at all the comps I received about my appearance. I started to raise a moustache several times, thinking to have my picture taken again, but have never had the heart to do it.

There is little else to write. We hear a lot of rumors as to what we are to do or not to do, but they are all just rumors, and not worth bothering ones head about. I do hope that they will move us to another pace soon, for I am tired of this town and would like a change. This leaves me well as usual. Give my love to all.”

            Thank you to Leona Garrison for sharing this letter, written from her uncle to her mother. This letter was among the many loaned by the community to the Geary County Historical Society for the military exhibit Letters Home, which features letters written from soldiers abroad from the 1880s-1980s. The exhibit will be taken down on September 21st, so stop in soon to see these fascinating letters. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, 1-4pm.